The 93-mile Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park features switchbacks and terrain that would make walking poles a necessary safety feature.

Written by

Matt Misterek
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)

You know what it looks like when circus clowns cram into a tiny car? That's what came to mind as I loaded my backpack for a week on the Wonderland Trail, pushing it to the point of unnatural strain and bulging.

Forty-three pounds of gear into this jam session, the last of the 10 outdoors essentials were checked off, leaving just enough room for a nonessential paperback and a somewhat essential summer sausage.

Then my mind reluctantly turned to an "-ation" you won't find on the standard wilderness survival list. Stabilization. ...